Your Money

Why does every disappointing economic data point make the stock market react like the Hindenburg? It's likely because the public markets have perfectly priced in hopes for the elusive "soft landing." In economic terms, a soft landing occurs when the Federal Reserve successfully slows down an overheated economy to curb inflation without causing a recession. The goal is to raise interest rates just enough to cool inflation, but not so much that it triggers a downturn.

While inflation appears controlled, investors now focus on slowing growth and the rising (though still low) risk of recession. This heightened sensitivity to economic data has led to sharp swings in stock prices and bond yields. Even as the Fed prepares to cut rates, the market’s fragility around economic weakness will likely persist.

Remember, a soft landing doesn’t guarantee a smooth one. The captain has turned on the fasten seatbelt sign.

What Lies Behind the Markets’ Jitters
by James Mackintosh

Your Life

I like to stay connected when traveling internationally but do not like to pay the exorbitant roaming fees when keeping my current phone plan. It’s even more frustrating when I pay so much or even choose my carrier’s international plan and the connection is bad or nonexistent. Instead of ditching your smartphone altogether, there are options. 

First, turn off roaming, put your phone on airplane mode, and connect to Wi-FI instead. However, with this option, you will be at the mercy of a Wi-Fi signal. Another option that will be cheaper and likely give you the best connection is to purchase an eSIM, either one that works in your international location or one that is local to your specific destination. You can purchase a cheap SIM card before you go or even at the airport on arrival for access to a local phone number, data, calls, and texts at domestic rates. If you’re going for the eSIM option, it works the same as a normal SIM, but it’s connected digitally to your phone so you don’t have to keep track of multiple SIM cards. You will need to do a little research online to find all the options and choose the best eSIM for your destination.

One more thing to consider is to check with your current provider that your phone is unlocked and able to work with another SIM card. Also, some carriers stipulates that you must wait 30-60 in order to get an eSIM activated. So, plan in advance accordingly.

How to Use Your Phone Internationally Without Charges
by Elizabeth Gorga

Complexity Simplified

Did you know that pure almond extract is just water, alcohol and oil from bitter almonds or from the pits of stone fruits that have been cold pressed? Often commercially made almond extract are made from the inside of peach or apricot pits. Cook’s Illustrated did a taste-testing for almond extract and found that extract from actual almonds were too mild and preferred the extracts made from stone fruit for better, more potent flavor. Also, no need to turn your nose on imitation extracts which use a combination of synthetic ingredients, because they actually work better in baked goods. Use the more expensive pure extracts for lower-temperature indulgences.

Here’s Why You Might Love Almonds, But Hate Almond Extract
by Julia Sklar

Trivia